Stroudsburg soccer star Ellison chooses Wilmington University

Jordon Ellison is getting the best of both worlds as his soccer career is set to continue.

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By JOE MIEGOC

poconorecord.com

By JOE MIEGOC

Posted Apr. 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By JOE MIEGOC

Posted Apr. 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

Jordon Ellison is getting the best of both worlds as his soccer career is set to continue.

Ellison, the Pocono Record boys soccer Player of the Year the past two seasons, committed to play at Wilmington University in Delaware earlier this month.

Ellison, who helped Stroudsburg win two Mountain Valley Conference titles and two District 11 Class AAA championships, is getting half a scholarship from the Wildcats, who are a Division II team in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.

Several Division I schools, including Hartford, Michigan State and Ohio State, were interested in Ellison, but the fact that Wilmington still plays high-level soccer and its proximity to home made the Delaware school the right one for Ellison.

"Everybody wants to go D-I, but at the same time there are D-II programs that are just as good as Division I schools," said Ellison, who is Stroudsburg's all-time leader in goals (66), assists (70) and points (202). "I talked about it with my parents and it just seemed like a good fit for me. It's still high-level soccer.

"And I didn't want to go too far away. I'm only about two hours away so I can still see my family and they can come watch my games."

Ellison had been playing high-level soccer since stepping on the field at Stroudsburg.

A starter as a freshman, Ellison was a key part of the Mounties' MVC and district title teams. He won his first conference MVP award as a junior, but the Mounties fell in the MVC title and district championship games. That set up a big senior year for Ellison, who helped Stroudsburg win a pair of titles while setting several individual scoring records. Ellison was the conference MVP again, added a second straight All-State honor and was also a regional All-American last fall.

All of that, plus his time spent playing club soccer, put him on the radar of a number of colleges. That made the recruiting process long and arduous for Ellison, who took his time to make sure he made the right decision.

"You have to be interested and show these schools and coaches respect because they took the time to look into you," Ellison said. "There can be big schools or small schools recruiting you or even a school that comes out of nowhere. You have to take your time and make the right decision for you."

The Wildcats, who are coming off a 12-8 season, expect a lot from Ellison.

A four-year starter at Stroudsburg, Ellison plans to go in and compete with an eye on helping Wilmington in whatever way he can.

"They're expecting me to do big things," Ellison said. "When I went down for the visit they asked me, 'Can you be perfect? Because that's what we're trying to be.' They want to win a championship and I want to be a part of a championship team so I'm going to do whatever I can to help us get to that point."

Winning championships is nothing new for Ellison.

A member of MVC and district title teams as a freshman and senior, Ellison has plenty of good memories from his days at Stroudsburg to carry with him as he begins a new career.

"It's been great," Ellison said. "Every year was a different team. It was a great experience to play for my dad (James Ellison) and the guys on the team were great. It was just a great experience overall and I wouldn't have wanted to be at any other school."